International Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science

ISSN: 2455-9024

Zigbee based Hierarchical Network for Supervisory

Industrial Process Control
J. C. Kolte1, K. A. Mankar2, D. G. Gahane3
1, 2, 3

Electronics and Telecommunication, Nagpur, Maharashtra, India-440004

Email address: 1jyotiamolramteke@rediffmail.com

AbstractZigbee based hierarchical networks for supervisory

industrial process control is a highly advanced technique to automate
the industry in object management, material movement, plant
demand and warehouse supply can be effectively facilitated in an
efficient, accurate and intelligent way. It is a useful concept in
todays competitive industry and marketplace, the companies require
advanced technology to improve process effectiveness, comply with
environmental guidelines, and meet corporate financial goals.
Traditionally, industrial automation systems are realized through
wired communications. However, the wired systems require
expensive communication cables to be installed and regularly
maintained, and thus, they are not widely implemented in industrial
plants because of their high cost. Therefore, there is a need for costeffective wireless automation systems that enable significant savings
and reduce air-pollutant emissions by optimizing the management of
industrial systems.

latency and very low energy consumption for long battery

lives and for large device arrays. There are a multitude of
proprietary wireless systems manufactured today to solve a
multitude of problems that also dont require high data rates
but do require low cost and very low current drain. These
proprietary systems were designed because there were no
standards that met their requirements. These legacy systems
are creating significant interoperability problems with each
other and with newer technologies.
C. Proposed System
We recommend the use of zigbees in industrial nodal
communication for where different nodes will operate together
to facilitate object handling and management. There can be
multiple nodes, one at warehouse, one at plant and one on the
transport vehicle. All of them will be connected using a zigbee
network wherein the speed of data transmission will be very
high therefore the controlling signals will be sent and received
immediately. Microcontroller AVR can be used at the
warehouse which along with a computer will keep track of
and will provide the objects to the locomotive vehicle.

Keywords Zigbee, plant, warehouse, object management, object

handling.

I.

INTRODUCTION

ZigBee is a specification for a suite of high level

communication protocols using tiny, low-power digital radios
based on an IEEE 802 standard for personal area networks.
ZigBee has a defined rate of 250 Kbit/s best suited for periodic
or irregular data or a single signal transmission from a sensor
or input device. The ZigBee standard provides network,
security, and application support ser-vices operating on top of
the IEEE 802.15.4. The standard is aiming to be a low-cost,
low-power solution for systems consisting of unsupervised
groups of devices in houses, factories and offices.

II.

ARCHITECTURE

The figure below shows the rendition of the proposed

architecture wherein the nodes will be connected using
zigbees in a wireless manner so that industrial object handling
can be carried out.

A. Existing Technology
Traditionally, industrial automation systems are realized
through wired communications. However, the wired systems
require expensive communication cables to be installed and
regularly maintained, and thus, they are not widely
implemented in industrial plants because of their high cost.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for cost-effective wireless
automation systems that enable significant savings and reduce
air-pollutant emissions by optimizing the management of
industrial systems.
B. Need for Zigbee
There are a multitude of standards that address mid to high
data rates for voice, PC LANs, video, etc. However, up till
now there hasnt been a wireless network standard that meets
the unique needs of sensors and control devices. Sensors and
controls dont need high bandwidth but they do need low

Recommended schematic of the object- handling system

In the method there will be a warehouse in which materials

required for the plant will be present. There will be a
mechanism which will place or drop the desired materials on
the locomotive vehicle. For communication between
103

J. C. Kolte, K. A. Mankar, and D. G. Gahane, Zigbee based hierarchical network for supervisory industrial process control, International
Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 103-106, 2016.

International Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science

ISSN: 2455-9024

locomotive vehicle, warehouse and plant we recommend the

use of zigbee communication protocol.
We also propose designs for all industrial nodes so that
communication using zigbee can be facilitated.

get request from station 2 then display station 2 and DC

motors starts and robot goes towards required station. After
reaching the station and detecting the object servo motor starts
and goes down. Then flapper takes the component and goes to
the assembly point. After reaching the assembly point servo
motor goes up and objects are placed at required assembly
point.

Recommended schematic of the warehouse node

As shown above, we recommend microcontroller AVR

processor at the warehouse node which is compatible with
zigbee, consumes less power and with the help of MAX -232
can provide serial data about the availability of objects or
materials to the computer.

Troubleshooting of robot

IV.

TROUBLESHOOTING OF ASSEMBLY POINT

We are using LCD to check how many objects remaining.

Two IR sensors are of two assembly points. We put the
maximum object count 10.
Recommended schematic of the locomotive vehicle

Also, for faster object management with high accuracy we

recommend line follower sensors on the locomotive vehicle
and that the fixed nodes be connected using physically painted
lines. Microcontrollers with in-built programs or with
interrupts can be used for driving the locomotive.

Troubleshooting of assembly point

Recommended schematic of the plant node

III.

Then in the process at the assembly point when the object

count is reduced to 3 then signal is send to Robot for to
borrow the objects from warehouse. LCD display shows the
total count and present count of objects remained at the
assembly point. In proteus we use two switches instead of IR
sensors.

TROUBLESHOOTING OF ROBOT

For testing of Robot circuit we are using LCD on Robot

which shows different reading and messages. Firstly when
power supply is on LCD will display ROBO SERVENT .After
getting request from station 1 it will display station 1 and if
104

J. C. Kolte, K. A. Mankar, and D. G. Gahane, Zigbee based hierarchical network for supervisory industrial process control, International
Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 103-106, 2016.

International Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science

ISSN: 2455-9024

V.

batteries to last up to years using primary cells (low cost)

without any chargers (low cost and easy installation).
ZigBees simplicity allows for inherent configuration and
redundancy of network devices provides low maintenance.
The recommended system is low cost and secure. Reliability
and speed of operation is high. There is scope for flexibility
and extendibility. Power consumption is low. Also, it can be
global with use of unlicensed radio bands. Also integrated
intelligence for network set-up and message routing can be
provided.

IMPLEMENTATION

VII. APPLICATIONS
Zigbee technology is programmed in a chip form and is
used in many devices to function automatically .For
controlling and monitoring a whole factory unit while sitting
in one cabin is possible by using Zigbee technology. It
centralizes all the units in one place and enables the remote
monitoring. In a similar way, a home can be centralized by
increasing the security aspect. Many small equipments are
coming with embedded Zigbee technology chips and really
works like a miracle.
The proposed system can be useful in chemical and
pharmaceutical industries, automobile industries, food canning
industry, bottling plants, packing industries, advanced libraries
for managing books etc. Also, it can be useful for bringing
objects in a home designed for Alzheimer patients.

VIII. PICTURE OF DEVELOPED SYSTEM

VI.

ADVANTAGES

There arises a legitimate question that why Bluetooth

shouldnt be used instead of zigbee. But it should be noted that
Bluetooth has many different modes and states depending
upon your latency and power requirements such as sniff, park,
hold, active, etc. ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 has active
(transmit/receive) or sleep mode. Application software needs
to focus on the application, not on which power mode is
optimum for each aspect of operation.
Low cost to the users means low device cost, low
installation cost and low maintenance. ZigBee devices allow

Assembly point

105
J. C. Kolte, K. A. Mankar, and D. G. Gahane, Zigbee based hierarchical network for supervisory industrial process control, International
Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 103-106, 2016.

International Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science

ISSN: 2455-9024

IX.

request and the service

malfunctioning are detected.

FUTURE SCOPE

In future we can design the robot with a camera for further

supervisory purpose. The present device can be enhanced to
perform a wider range of applications such as accident rescue
robot. More assembly points can be interfaced and more
components can be provided.Enhancement of security can be
facilitated by adding advanced encryption techniques on
signals.
X.

provided

are

stored

hence

REFERENCES
[1]

[2]

CONCLUSION

[3]
[4]

For this project we have designed a system that provides

the industrial process automation and supervisory process
control. The higher authority can monitor the data stored in the
excel sheet for further supervision such as the timings for the

[5]

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106
J. C. Kolte, K. A. Mankar, and D. G. Gahane, Zigbee based hierarchical network for supervisory industrial process control, International
Research Journal of Advanced Engineering and Science, Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 103-106, 2016.